Toronto police preparing for ‘every eventuality’ at weekend protest

With trucker protests in Ottawa heading into their third straight weekend, Toronto police say they are prepared for all eventualities should there be another rally this weekend.

Police put roadblocks in effect around Queen’s Park on Wednesday after learning about the possibility of protests returning to the city through social media posts.

“Our intelligence is not based merely on social media posts. We have a very elaborate and robust intelligence operation,” said Police Chief James Ramer without going into specifics. However, he conceded that there is a deliberate disinformation campaign going on with regard to these protests.

“It is an organized group of people that are trying to make it difficult for police agencies across the province. We believe some of them are deliberately trying to tax our resources, so we have to weigh all the information the best we can with all our partners and do the best we can,” he said.

“We are preparing for every eventuality. …We have a very robust plan that is very nimble and allows us to scale up or scale down, whatever is required.”

Ramer said they will be taking steps to limit the impact of any protest on the city’s roads and residents while keeping emergency routes clear. He adds that anyone attempting to disrupt these key access routes will be subject to “strict enforcement.”

“We are here to ensure public safety and to facilitate peaceful protest. And peaceful protest does not include vehicles jamming up the roadways,” said Ramer. “That’s what we’re attempting to stop and will not be tolerated.”

Asked about what the force plans to do if protesters attempt to set up long-term roadblocks, similar to what is occurring in Ottawa, Ramer says they will act quickly to move them out of the way.

“We are not going to allow encampments,” he said. “We have assets in place to make sure if vehicles are engaged, they’re not moving, we’re going to move them out of the way.”

“Our priority will be to allow peaceful protest but not allow encampments and to occupy roadways.

Ramer said he’s pleased with the provincial decision to enact the state of emergency and that he is waiting for the final wording before providing operational direction to his officers.

“Anything that we do in that regard will only be if necessary.”

ROAD CLOSURES:
– Effective immediately, Queens Park Circle to the north, Dundas Street West to the south, Bay Street to the east, and University Avenue to the west
– All east to west traffic will be diverted, except TTC @TTCnotices
– expect delays
– consider alternate routes
^al

— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) February 12, 2022

Queen’s Park Circle remains shut down from Bloor Street to College Street for a third straight day. Police have also blocked off portions of Wellesley and College streets in the area.

Police took the same measures last weekend, not allowing large vehicles to access the areas near the provincial legislature during the anti-mandate protests. Pedestrians can still access the area.

Around 2,000 demonstrators attended the Toronto protest last Saturday. Police say they made two arrests, but the event was described as peaceful.